The Morning Line: Charlotte, Day 2

Gay won the round last night, and Cowboy Up carried Kaique Pacheco to a fifth-place finish. Gay is in good shape to get a quality second score here and move on the short round near the top of the standings.

Tyler Harr on 01 Cash Ya Out:

Harr got a score last night, but it was on the low end. He will have a chance to do much better here. This bull can place him in the points. Cash Ya Out has been known to spin either way, but it depends what side of the arena he’s on. From a right-hand delivery he should go to the right, and that’s where they have him tonight. He looks like a better bull going to the right, and even a bit smoother. It will be away from Harr’s hand, but he’s still got a good chance. Nathan Schaper won a round on Cash Ya Out earlier this year going away from his hand.

J.B. Mauney on 937 Bad to the Bone:

Ever since the break Mauney has been on a roll, and just about everyone else at the top of the standings has been either in a funk or outright cursed. But, Mauney’s wagon looks to have chipped a wheel. He’s facing a lot of adversity right now. Aside from being banged up, last week he had one of the best bulls in the pen drawn, and couldn’t get out on him. Last night he drew another bull that’s bad in the chute, but could have been good for him in the arena, couldn’t get out on him, and ended up with a reride on a bull that wasn’t quite as good a fit for him. Then he really kind of gets suckered by that bull, and bucked off on what looked like a stumble by the bull, but he doesn’t get a reride option. Which brings us to this matchup, which isn’t with the best bull Mauney could have drawn here. Bad to the Bone has been ridden a few times, but only by right-handed riders.

So, everything isn’t coming up roses right now for the 2013 World Champion, but the reason he is a world champ is that he doesn’t often get into a self-imposed funk over setbacks. When the heat is on, everyone expects Mauney to be at his best, and he usually is. It’s hard to feel the same about any other rider here, because they just haven’t walked through the fire as often.

Stetson Lawrence on 691 Superfreak:

This is a rematch from just last month. Lawrence rode Superfreak in Nashville, Tennessee, for 81.75 points. This bull has been a campaigner for Jerome Davis for a number of years. He won the American Heritage Futurity as a 2-year old in 2008, and he’s got several of his calves bucking here in Charlotte this weekend. This will probably be the last time we see him at this level, but he has had a stellar career. Lawrence has a good chance to get a score here, but Superfreak isn’t a pushover.

Tanner Byrne on 161 Crooked Face:

Byrne placed in last night’s round, and this is really a fantastic bull for him to have as a follow-up. We saw Crooked Face carry Mauney to 89.5 points and a round win in Des Moines, Iowa, earlier this year, and he went to the right with Mauney, which will be into Byrne’s hand.

Cooper Davis on 885 Soldier’s Pride:

Davis was second in last night’s round, and he has a little tougher task ahead of him here. Soldier’s Pride can be pretty hard to ride at times. He can have big, dramatic jumps and turns, and can make a guy really have to work for it. But, he’s given up scores in his last two outs, and isn’t always as hard to ride as he can be.

Fabiano Vieira on 9507 Blues Man:

Vieira came down last night, but he’s not likely to here. This bull is pretty honest, and likes to go to the left. On paper he’s no match for Vieira. In reality, it isn’t hard to fall off any bull at the BFTS level, but Vieira doesn’t make a habit of falling off.

Ryan Dirteater on 093 Pure Bull:

Cooper Davis won second in the opening round on this bull, and he did it with the bull going away from his hand. He’ll be into Dirteater’s hand. Pure Bull had a pretty hard corner with Davis, but after that he was a creampuff. If Dirteater can ride him past the first round, he should be able to ride him the rest of the way and smile for the cameras while he’s doing it. Pure Bull hasn’t given up a lot of scores, and he’s thrown off some good riders, but if last night’s trip was the norm, that won’t last.

Silvano Alves on 1275 Joe the Grinder:

When I talked about Mauney, I mentioned that it’s hard to have confidence that any other rider here will be at his best when everything is on the line. The one rider who makes me think twice about saying that is Alves. He is the most gifted guy here, and in the past he has made himself impossible to beat when he needed to. He has a bull he should be able to win or place high in the round on here, but he’s been in a terrible slump since the break, and only has two qualified rides in the last five events. Alves by all rights should be better today than he was a few years ago, but his riding has steadily declined each year for whatever reason. It is possible to imagine him bucking off this bull that should fit him perfectly. In 2011 it would have been ridiculous to think that. It would have been a joke. Alves is still a three-time World Champion, but it has been a while since we’ve caught a glimpse of that invincible, unbeatable, dominating guy that we saw in 2010 through 2012.